Prince

The week is over. My reams of spreadsheets and schedules, and an iPod half-filled with mp3s of bands I’d never heard before did their jobs and can be retired. And a glorious week it was. With all the press attention on the big names: Prince, Green Day, Depeche Mode, Dave Grohl, it can be forgotten that SXSW is really all about discovery. The up-and-coming Americana band from New Orleans, the high-buzz newcomer from London, the struggling singer-songwriter from Oakland. Finding these artists on the upswing, before you have to fight crowds to see them, is what Austin has always been about for me. And the payoff this year was big. Here’s a day-by-day account.

Tuesday:

We arrive a day before the music really begins so we can sink ourselves deep into the other thing Austin is all about: BBQ. If this picture below, from legendary Smitty’s Market in Lockhart, Tex. (about 30 minutes south of Austin) doesn’t get you drooling a bit, you’re probably a wheat grass and tempeh sort. If so, skip right on by to the music.

A couple of Bay Area singers are looking to make their mark on two of television’s biggest reality shows.

Deandre Brackensick of San Jose year finds himself among the remaining 42 contestants on “American Idol” as the competition continues tonight on Fox. Meanwhile, Monique Benabou has secured a spot with Christina Aguilera’s team on NBC’s “The Voice.”

This is the second “Idol” go-around for Brackensick, 17. Last season, he fell just short of making the Top 24, getting brutally cut just after the show’s Hollywood Round. But the handsome kid with the flowing curly locks is back and looking to stick.

During last week’s group performances in Las Vegas, Brackensick wowed the judges while delivering a funky rendition of Buddy Holly’s “It Doesn’t Matter Anymore” with Jessica Sanchez and Candice Glover.

Still, it’s difficult to determine just what kind of chance he has of advancing because he has received just scant camera time. (A bad sign?) What little we do know about him is gleaned from the impressions he made last season, when he rocked a ukulele and held us spellbound with a beautiful falsetto that was honed while growing up on traditional Hawaiian tunes.

When judges Randy Jackson, Jennifer Lopez and Steven Tyler cut Brackensick from the competition, they did so with heavy hearts. J Lo said he a had a “magic little voice” and “hated” to let him go. But the judges agreed that he wasn’t quite consistent enough to move on.

Let’s hope he changes their minds this year.

As for Benabou, she sang a cover of Kelly Clarkson’s “Mr. Know It All” on Monday night’s episode of “The Voice” that had Aguilera raving.

“You started out really strong. Nice tone. Sounds powerful. You were genuinely consistent and you delivered,” Aguilera said after the East Bay performer rocked NBC’s popular singing contest.

Benabou, 23, now advances to the next round of the competition as a member of Aguilera’s team. Aguilera was the only judge to turn her chair around during Benabou’s performance. On “The Voice,” Aguilera competes with fellow coaches Blake Shelton, Cee Lo Green and Adam Levine to build the best 12-person team of singers.

According to her Facebook page, Benabou was born in Oakland and is the youngest of five children. Her musical influences include Janis Joplin, Bob Marley, Michael Jackson, Prince and Mariah Carey.

She describes herself as “a gypsy, a free spirit, a truly nomadic being who goes around singing, dancing and smiling.” In a conference-call interview on Tuesday, Beabou said she started singing at the age of 3 and came into her own while performing musical theater at Alameda High School.

“By the time I reached my junior year, it had become very clear that singing was going to be the only thing that I was going to be satisfied doing in my life,” she said.

“Somebody turn on the house lights,” commanded the royal rocker, who then gazed out at the 16,000 fans that filled every seat at Oracle Arena. “They said we couldn’t sell this place out. How long did it take? About five minutes?”

That self-congratulatory moment was well earned. Prince had indeed accomplished something that few others would even dare to attempt: He announced two big arena shows in Oakland (Feb. 21 and 23), put tickets on sale at top prices (reaching as high as $250) and then played both concerts, all within an eight-day period. That comes in an environment where some major acts, such as Sade, are now putting their tickets on sale more than a half-year in advance of the performance dates. Continue Reading →

Word from promoters: Sheila E just added as a special guest for the Prince concerts this Monday and Wednesday at Oracle Arena. The legendary Larry Graham will open both shows! Tix for both shows on sale now at Livenation.com

We love Michelle Williams’ dress at the premiere of her new film “Blue Valentine,” but the platinum blond short hairdo threw us out of our seats.

Also featured today: Marion Cotillard rocks the leather dress with style at the premiere of “Les Petis Mouchoirs;” Clive Owen continues to be the only man that gives George Clooney a run for his money in the classy department; and Prince continues to be creepy.

I can only name two games where you hold hands with a girl. The first is the oft-mentioned but little-played Ico and the second would have to be a more recent game — Ubisoft’s latest Prince of Persia.

After finishing it recently, it’s hard not to notice Team Ico‘s influence on the newest edition to the franchise. As I mentioned in the review, the project combines elements from the Japanese developers’ two games to create a good experience.

Frankly, I always love it when a Western developer tries to tackle a Japanese-style game and vice versa. The results are always interesting and at the least unexpected. (I’m thinking of Keiji Inafune’s Dead Rising and Goichi Suda’s No More Heroes as two Japanese takes on the open-world design.)

Yes, Bruce Springsteen and the E-Street Band has signed on to provide the halftime entertainment at the next Super Bowl. In taking the gig, Bruce follows in the footsteps of the Rolling Stones, U2, Paul McCartney, Prince and last yearâ€™s featured attraction, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. Next year’s big bash is scheduled for Feb. 1 in Tampa, Fla.

The only question now is, will the Boss take requests? I humbly ask for
“Badlands,” “Born to Run” and “Rosalita” (and that’s just the start).

While we’re pondering the Super Bowl set list, we’ll share this funny and inventive video someone did of Springsteen’s “Promised Land,” done completely with Lego characters:

A) the longest grip fall
B) marathon aka run the whole map and
C) master every combo in the game.

If I had my vote — and I did — I’d pick marathon because it seems like the easiest one to get. I’m lazy. I don’t want to work hard for my achievements. If there was a game that would give me a full thousand just for pressing start, I’d pick that game up without a thought. I am that lazy.

So c’mon voters. Pick the achievement that requires the least effort because you know you’re going to play this game.

For all intents and purposes, the Sands of Time trilogy is done. Itâ€™s over. Itâ€™s finished. Ubisoft has closed the book on that, and itâ€™s slammed shut. What they do have now is a new Prince of Persia that stands separate from its predecessor.

And itâ€™s been a long time coming. The game has been in development for 2 1/2 years to be exact. It takes the same sort of fantasy element from the previous adventure and brings it into the new technology.

At the UbiDays event, the developers only showed a short trailer. In it, players see the new prince fighting a creature that looks like something out of the Fifth Element. Thatâ€™s all fine and goo, but the bigger addition to the gameplay has to be a new AI-controlled character named Elika.

Ben Mattes, a Ubisoft Montreal developer, say that unlike other AI-controlled characters, she wonâ€™t get in a way. Sheâ€™s integrated into the world helping guide the prince and becomes central in combat. That immediately became apparent when she helped the prince take care of the Fifth Element-looking creature in the trailer. She jumps in the air and the prince follows and they a sort team-up in a pairs figure-skating way to kill the bad guy.

In addition, Mattes says that they tried to create a world that balances the linear and nonlinear. He talked about the strengths of linear game, which is character development, and the sandbox play of the nonlinear game, and with this new Prince of Persia, the team is trying to blend the two together.

There will be different cities in the world, and as the new prince drives out corruption from the area, the story unfolds differently depending on how they tackle each region. Unfortunately, there isnâ€™t a clear date on the game other than a hopeful holiday 2008.